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Souvenir
Souvenir is the 14th short story in the anthology , published in June 1953. The story takes place in Iraq, probaly late in the Second World War or just after. Synopsis A British paratroop unit is lost in the Iraqi desert. The situation is desperate but then one Private Smith appears have an uncanny amount of local knowledge. Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Captain Vashley parachutes into the Iraqi desert with a squad of men to look for an aircraft believed have crashed there. Things go badly from the start. The aircraft is not there. Half of his water is lost when the containers are damaged in the drop. The Kurdish guide who is supposed to turn up to lead them back does not appear and the maps are inaccurate. They have no choice but to attempt to trek back to Mosul through the desert but they do not have enough water for the journey. After covering some distance, Private Smith approaches Vashley and tells him there's a hole full of clean cold water in a large rocky outcrop. Both Vashley and his sergeant, MacDonald, are sceptical, but anything is worth a try so MacDonald is sent to take a look. Smith is right and the unit is fully replenished, have drunk to satisfaction and even washed. Smith continues to guide the unit, taking them through a nullah which cuts through a seemingly impenetrable rock wall, and then to an oasis which is not where the map said it would be. After reaching Mosul and dismissing the men, Vashley compliments Smith on his local knowledge and asks when he had been in that area before. Smith says he had never been there--in fact he had never left England until a month ago. Vashtey notices Smith is wearing an old helmet which isn't regulation. Smith explains that he had lost his own helmet and found this in the sand. It seemed to fit like it had been made for him so he kept it as a souvenir. At the officer's mess, Vashley meets the Political Officer who congratulates him on his mission. The Political Officer says that from what he hears, Vashley must have stumbled on the line of march taken by Xenophon and his Ten Thousand. Connecting the dots, Vashley now produces the helmet Smith found. The Political Officer confirms it is a Greek battle-helmet of the correct era, the very kind of headgear Xenophon's men would have worn. Characters *Captain Vashley *Sergeant MacDonald *Private Smith Aircraft No aircraft appear in this story Ships No ships appear in this story Places Visited *Desert in northeast Iraq near the Iranian border *Mosul Research Notes Paratroop units did not exist before the Second World War, so the events in the story could only have happened during the war (after the paratroop units had been formed) or perhaps in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The British military presence in Iraq lasted until 1958. Publication History *''Sky Fever, and Other Stories'', Latimer House, 1953 *Reprinted in Biggles & Co., The W.E. Johns Quarterly Magazine, No. 21, Spring 1995 *''Short Sorties and Sky Fever'', Norman Wright, 2006 References Category:Short stories Category:Other short stories Category:Adult short stories